Mark 7
The full text of Mark 7 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,
2 They saw that some of his disciples were eating bread with defiled—that is, unwashed—hands.
3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands,a holding to the tradition of the elders,
4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they immerse themselves. And there are many other things they have received and hold to: the washing of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.
5 So the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, "Why don't your disciples live by the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?"
6 He said to them, "How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written:
'These people honor me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
7 They worship me in vain,
teaching human commands as doctrines.'
8 You have set aside God's command to hold on to human tradition.
9 And he kept telling them, "How nicely you nullify God's commandment so you can keep your own tradition!
10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever curses father or mother must surely be put to death.'
11 But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, 'Whatever support you would have had from me is Corban' (that is, a gift)—
12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother.
13 So you cancel the word of God by the tradition you hand down. And you do many other things just like this.
14 Calling the crowd to him again, he said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand.
15 Nothing outside a person, going into them, can make them unclean. What makes a person unclean is what comes out of them.
17 When he had left the crowd and entered a house, his disciples asked him about the parable.
18 He said to them, "Are you also without understanding? Don't you see that nothing entering a person from outside can defile them?
19 because it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out into the sewer"—thus cleansing all foods.
20 He went on: "What comes out of a person—that is what defiles them.
21 For it is from within, out of people's hearts, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,
22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, debauchery, an envious eye, slander, arrogance, and folly.
23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.
24 From there he set out for the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not escape notice.
25 But as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit came and fell at his feet.
26 The woman was a Greek, Syrophoenician by descent. She kept asking him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 He said to her, "Let the children eat their fill first. It isn't fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
28 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the house dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."
29 He said to her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has gone out of your daughter."
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31 Then he left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the region of the Decapolis.
32 They brought him a deaf man who could hardly speak, and begged him to lay his handᵃ on him.
33 He took the man aside, away from the crowd, put his fingers into his ears, then spat and touched his tongue.
34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!").
35 His ears were opened, the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke clearly.
36 He gave them strict orders to tell no one. But the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it all the more.
37 They were utterly astonished, saying, "He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Translation notes (40)
- Mark 7:2a The Greek word koinas, meaning 'common,' here refers to something ritually defiled. Mark explains this for his non-Jewish readers by defining it as 'unwashed.'
- Mark 7:3a The Greek word pygmē, literally 'with a fist,' is an obscure idiom whose precise gesture is uncertain. Ancient and modern interpreters have suggested it means 'up to the wrist,' 'with a cupped hand,' or 'carefully/thoroughly.'
- Mark 7:3b Some early manuscripts (א W and several Old Latin and Syriac witnesses) read the Greek word pykna, meaning 'often, carefully,' instead of pygmē, meaning 'with a fist.' The reading pygmē is found in manuscripts A B and most other witnesses, and it is the one followed here.
- Mark 7:4a Some early manuscripts (𝔓45vid A D W f1.13 33 𝔐) read the Greek word rantisōntai, meaning 'sprinkle themselves,' instead of baptisōntai, meaning 'immerse themselves.' The reading baptisōntai is found in manuscripts א B and is adopted here.
- Mark 7:4b The Greek word baptisōntai means 'immerse' or 'dip.' Mark shifts here from the word nipsōntai ('wash,' in verse 3) to this stronger verb. It comes from the same root as the word 'baptize' used elsewhere in Mark's Gospel.
- Mark 7:4c Some early manuscripts omit the phrase 'and couches' (kai klinōn), but it is included in manuscripts א B and most other witnesses.
- Mark 7:4d κλινῶν can mean dining couches (Greco-Roman triclinium) or beds; the latter recalls Levitical purity laws (Lev 15:4-5, 21-23).
- Mark 7:5a The Greek word peripateō, meaning 'walk,' is a Semitic idiom (a phrase common in Hebrew and Aramaic) that refers to one's conduct or way of life. It is rendered here as 'live by.'
- Mark 7:5b The 'Tradition of the elders' refers to the ancestral oral tradition, which was later called the Oral Torah. This tradition was distinct from the written Law of Moses, a distinction that Jesus emphasizes in Mark 7:8–13.
- Mark 7:5c Greek 'common' (κοιναῖς); Mark 7:2 glosses this as 'unwashed' (ἀνίπτοις), so we follow Mark's own equation.
- Mark 7:6a The Greek word καλῶς (kalōs), meaning 'how aptly, how rightly,' is emphasized by its position and often carries an ironic tone.
- Mark 7:6b This quotation follows the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, in Isaiah 29:13, which includes the phrase 'with their lips,' unlike the standard Hebrew text, which reads 'with its mouth and with its lips.' Mark's argument relies on the wording found in the Septuagint.
- Mark 7:7a Mark quotes Isaiah 29:13 in the form found in the Septuagint. The standard Hebrew text reads differently: 'their fear of me is a human commandment learned by rote.'
- Mark 7:7b The Greek phrase διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων (didaskontes didaskalias entalmata anthrōpōn) literally means 'teaching as doctrines the commandments of humans.' The Greek word ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) is gender-inclusive, meaning 'humans.'
- Mark 7:8a Some manuscripts (A f¹³ 𝔐 latt sy), reflected in the King James Version, add the phrase: '—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.' However, the critical Greek text omits this phrase, supported by early manuscripts such as ℵ B L W Δ Θ.
- Mark 7:9a The Greek word καλῶς (kalōs), meaning "finely, nicely," is used ironically here, indicating that Jesus is mocking, not approving.
- Mark 7:9b The Greek verb ἔλεγεν (elegen) is in a tense that suggests ongoing or repeated speech, meaning "he kept telling them."
- Mark 7:9c ἀθετεῖτε carries the force of nullifying or invalidating, as of a covenant or legal ruling (cf. Gal 2:21).
- Mark 7:10a Quoting Exod 20:12 / Deut 5:16 (honor) and Exod 21:17 / Lev 20:9 (penalty). Greek κακολογῶν renders Hebrew מְקַלֵּל ('curses, reviles').
- Mark 7:10b The phrase 'Must surely be put to death' translates the emphatic Greek θανάτῳ τελευτάτω (thanatō teleutatō), which is a phrase characteristic of the Septuagint and reflects the Hebrew grammatical construction מוֹת יוּמָת (mot yumath), used for emphasis.
- Mark 7:11a Corban is an Aramaic term (qorbān) for something dedicated to God. Mark explains this word for his Greek-speaking readers, as he often does with Semitic terms (compare Mark 5:41; 7:34). Once an item was declared Corban, it was off-limits for ordinary use, including supporting one's parents. The sentence breaks off here; Jesus' point continues in verse 12.
- Mark 7:15a The Greek word koinōsai (koinōsai) means 'to make common or unclean,' and it refers to ritual purity rather than primarily moral defilement.
- Mark 7:15b Some later manuscripts add verse 16, 'If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.' However, this verse is absent in the earliest witnesses (ℵ B L Δ*) and is therefore not part of the original text.
- Mark 7:18a The Greek word ἀσύνετοι (asynetoi) means 'without understanding, lacking insight,' referring to a failure of the mind to grasp the teaching, not a general lack of intelligence.
- Mark 7:19a The Greek word καθαρίζων (katharizōn), meaning 'cleansing,' is a Greek verb form that describes an action and functions like an adjective, here in the masculine form and acting as the subject. Most interpreters understand it as Mark's own comment, tied to the narrator's voice in verse 18, meaning 'thus he declared all foods clean.' A minority interpretation from early Church Fathers (like Chrysostom) connected it to the latrine, suggesting 'the latrine, cleansing all foods,' which is grammatically possible but does not fit the context well.
- Mark 7:21a The Greek word διαλογισμοί (dialogismoi) can convey the sense of 'reasonings' or 'intentions,' implying more than just fleeting thoughts.
- Mark 7:21b The Greek words πορνεῖαι (porneiai), κλοπαί (klopai), and φόνοι (phonoi) are plural, indicating multiple instances or various kinds of these acts; they are translated as collective singulars for easier reading in English.
- Mark 7:22a "An envious eye" renders the Greek idiom ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός ("evil eye"), a Semitic expression for a grudging, stingy, or covetous disposition (cf. Deut 15:9; Matt 20:15).
- Mark 7:22b The Greek word βλασφημία (blasphēmia) here means abusive speech against people, or "slander." The same word elsewhere refers to speech against God, or "blasphemy." The context of the passage determines its meaning.
- Mark 7:24a The critical Greek text reads 'Tyre' alone, supported by early manuscripts such as א B. Later manuscripts add 'and Sidon,' which is reflected in the King James Version tradition, likely to make the text consistent with verse 31.
- Mark 7:26a The Greek word Hellēnis here marks her as a Gentile (non-Jew).
- Mark 7:26b Syrophoenician refers to a Phoenician from the Roman province of Syria, distinguishing them from Libyan Phoenicians.
- Mark 7:27a The Greek word kynariois is a diminutive of kyōn, meaning 'dog,' and is rendered 'little dogs' here to preserve the wordplay the woman picks up in verse 28. Some translations render it 'house dogs' or 'puppies'; whether the term is meant to be affectionate or dismissive is debated.
- Mark 7:27b Greek οὐ καλόν ἐστιν conveys propriety ('not fitting/fair') rather than ethics ('not right'); cf. the same idiom in Matt 15:26.
- Mark 7:28a The Greek word kynaria is a diminutive, meaning 'little dogs' or 'house dogs,' and is distinct from kynes, which refers to street or scavenger dogs. This clause stacks three diminutives: kynaria ('house dogs'), paidiōn ('little children,' rendered 'children'), and psichion ('little scraps').
- Mark 7:28b The Greek word kyrie can also be rendered 'sir.' In Mark, Gentiles rarely address Jesus this way; the term's force ranges from a polite address to a confessional title.
- Mark 7:32a Greek mogilalon: 'speaking with difficulty'; can range from a speech impediment to near-muteness. The LXX uses it of the mute in Isa 35:6, and Mark 7:37 summarizes the healing as making 'the mute speak.'
- Mark 7:32b The critical Greek text reads 'hand' (singular, supported by manuscripts such as ℵ B D L Δ); the later Byzantine manuscripts read 'hands' (plural).
- Mark 7:34a Ephphatha is an Aramaic word, transliterated by Mark and then translated for his Greek readers.
- Mark 7:36a The Greek text doubles the comparative words (mallon perissoteron, meaning 'more, all the more'), which is an emphatic pleonasm—using more words than necessary for emphasis—preserved here.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Greek rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
Continue: Mark 8 → · All of Mark · About the TBV · Read Mark 7 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus